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Post by TKO on Jan 8, 2005 10:05:28 GMT -5
I used to crimp only my "heavies", but now I crimp everything with Lee Factory Crimp Dies. I have found that it has lowered my extreme spreads across the board and, therefore, has made my loads more consistent. Works on bullets without crimping grooves, also.
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Post by MarkKw on Jan 8, 2005 21:12:31 GMT -5
I don't like crimping much of anything. I definitely prefer a nice snug neck fit that is consistent. Those that I do crimp only get just enough to do the job. I check my necks with a gauge, I like a .0008" to .001" interference fit. I also try not to flare the case mouth if at all possible. I chamfer the inside of the neck hard and never have a problem with jacketed bullets. Cast bullets need a little flare but I keep it as little as possible.
If you fear bullets sliding out under recoil, gets your necks tight on the bullet and don't crimp. Clean all the grease/oil off the bullet and neck and use a good marker to coat the bullet and neck so if the bullet slides even a little, you'll see bare copper above the mouth.
I'm sure someone will differ on this but putting a hard crimp on quells your spreads when your powder charges are varying slightly or you're not getting a consistent ignition. If you're weighing every charge, them most likely you have ignition problems. Make sure all your flash holes are the same exact size and chamfer both sides of the hole. I found this to be one of the biggest problems when I was working target loads for my '06. Once I did the flash holes, everything settled right in with no crimp on my bullets at all.
Got to watch your nech thickness too as the OD is directly proportional to the ID.
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Post by TKO on Jan 8, 2005 22:41:54 GMT -5
MarkKw, To each his own Regarding the heavies, the crimping is necessary for me because of recoil in magazine and heavily compressed loads that also want to push the bullet forward. In my lighter rifles, I do neck turn cases, but after reading a couple of articles on the subject and this test: www.accuratereloading.com/crimping.htmlI decided to give it a try and my results pretty much mirrored the test results across the board for four different rifles and loads. ;D
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Post by Rifleman on Jan 8, 2005 23:41:21 GMT -5
If you shoot semi auto mag.fed centerfire rifles like the M1a, or Ar-15 crimping is almost always neccessary from a reliability standpoint.
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Post by MarkKw on Jan 9, 2005 6:57:25 GMT -5
Wasn't thinking semi-auto's but in this case then yes I have to agree with Rifleman.
I've tried both ways myself with most tests being done on my .222 and .30-06 In the .222 any crimp no matter how slight wipes out the accuracy completely and yes, I've tried several brands of dies. The '06 is a little less fussy and will do ok if you crimp in the cannelure and only slightly, the more crimp you put to them the worse they will shoot.
I've never done a lot of compressed loads in rifles, those I have tired never worked very well for many reasons and I found that by changing powders you can get the same performance w/o compressed loads. Now that's talking heavy compression, light compression of .001" or less never seemed to be a problem.
What are you shooting that's giving you the problems of the bullets moving around in the mag?
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Post by TKO on Jan 9, 2005 9:29:40 GMT -5
MarkKw,
.458 Lott is the worst offender, but the .450 Marlin with 460 grain hardcast at 1850 fps does the same thing in the mag tube.
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Post by MarkKw on Jan 10, 2005 6:42:25 GMT -5
UGGGG tubes....ya, there's like no way around crimping in a tube. Sorry, I'm kinda stuck on singles and bolts I tend to slip a little on dealing with other actions. Those factory crimp dies, are they a roll or taper type? I'm still not fond of crimping but if gotta, ya gotta. I was thinking yesterday that I did have trouble with my .45 colt shooting heavy charges behind 300 grain bullets, they did slide a little and I ended up crimping them and now I ended up not using them as the 255 work better.
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Post by TKO on Jan 10, 2005 8:11:39 GMT -5
They are neither a roll or a taper but a collet type. They actually put the same amount of crimp on the case regardless of length, etc. www.leeprecision.com/cgi/catalog/browse.cgi?1105362520.4313=/html/catalog/dies-crimp.htmlI never roll crimped anything other than heavy loads in pistols and taper crimped my .45 ACP's. I, initially, started using Lee Factory Crimp dies on all my large bore centerfire, but after seeing how they improved my SD's, ES and accuracy with those, I have incorporated them into all my centerfire reloading with equal success. ;D
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Post by E.T. on Jan 10, 2005 11:31:26 GMT -5
TKO Great info about collect dies and will admit that I never even knew they existed. Will be adding some of these to my loading bench soon. Appreciate this informative post. Ed T
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Post by TKO on Jan 10, 2005 12:57:52 GMT -5
NewKid, If they work half as good for you as they have me, then you will really like them. Good Luck!
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Post by Rifleman on Jan 10, 2005 13:08:55 GMT -5
Once again I see our minds work alike TKO, I have been using Lee Factory crimp dies on my rifle loads for years as well.
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Post by TKO on Jan 10, 2005 13:40:47 GMT -5
Once again I see our minds work alike TKO. . . NOW I'm starting to worry LOL
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Post by scott41069 on Jan 10, 2005 17:07:28 GMT -5
Great info !! I have a Rem Model 7400 i have been hesitant about reloading for because of having to crimp. I think i will give it a try in the near future...
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